Junko In My Trunko

This is a mini homage to this artist I am nuts about, Junko Mizuno. She is a Japanese artist who popularized "kawaii noir" style meaning darkly cute. I'm not going to regale you with a dissertation on how mind blowing her art is but you can click on the link and see for yourself. Most people are into Hello Kitty. I am into Hello Kitty on acid...

As an afficionado, I had to have a trove of Junko Mizuno toys and books. Aside from being an illustrator she also writes graphic novels, three of them are very fractured versions of The Little Mermaid, Hansel and Gretel and Cinderella. Below are some of the Junko stuffs I had that made into boring afternoon photoshoots.

This is great way to start my Friday...with thoughts of toys and books in my head all day! 花の金曜日 (hananokin'yoobi) is how the Japanese say they're happy it's Friday! ^_^

Erin Go Brag (About Your Shop...)

This is a double frugal feature of me and Erin McNulty, my fellow artist gal pal at work. We like the same things meaning she is my to go to for "awwwww factor" when I find something cute. She also has an etsy shop where she sells prints like her best seller below, a personalized Family Tree print. You can order one by clicking this link!

Every now and then, I find people who wear interesting clothing and I wish they have a blog about their wardrobe stories. Most of them don't so I'm going to do double features when I can. Erin's leggings were begging for a feature today so here we are! Erin go bragh! Heh.

Putting Myself in Kayla's Shoes

Sag Harbor Classics Striped Sweater.C-Pink Jeans $25. Black Chucks hand me down from Kayla DuPree

Literally. Kayla is my friend's Chauntelle DuPree's little girl who is also my friend Sherri's niece. Kayla is probably one of the coolest, lovable little girl I know. She comes by it honestly coming from a family of musicians and artists. The very first time I met her was on my first trip to Tyler, Texas for Sherri's wedding, she handed me two of her chucks, black and pink after one quick look at my elfin feet. I've been wearing them all through that summer. I fondly call them my Kayla shoes.

Taken at the DuPree's second home, Starbucks. Here I am flanked by Kayla and Sherri looking like a cute Russian peasant about to ply her fresh lemons. Actually, I gave the lemons to her to give to her momma.

Enamel Heart Necklace Gadzooks $5. Claire's Elastic Bead Bracelets

This sweater reminds me of Bert, Ernie's long suffering roomate in Sesame Street. I love this sweater so much! It's so comfortable and the colors make me happy.

Have a Grape Day

Bargained Charlotte Russe Cardi $8 and Secretary Blouse $8. Rue 21 Skirt circa 2006.Target Leggings $5.Olive Refuge Boots ebay.com

Today I'm dressed like a vineyard, like a personified grapevine. Sadly, my real grapevine is dead, or sleeping,(I hope) so I can't wear a grapevine wreath accessory. That would have been smashing though!

I bought the cardi and top from Charlotte Russe in the bargain rack. That's the best place to be. Especially if the tag says "%50 off with an additional %50 at check out". The best thing about bargain racks is finding that dress you wanted slashed down ridiculously low. The worst thing about it is finding that top you bought a month ago full price slashed down ridiculously low.

Beadwork on cardi is awesome and stayed put too, even after a ride in the washing machine! Bracelets all Xiomara made.

Monday Reds to Get Rid of the Blues.

Twelve by Twelve Cardigan $35. Rue 21 necklaces $6 each.Paris Blues Jeans $25.Charlotte Russe Top $21. Boots Charlotte Russe

I went in blog absentia for the weekend to Tyler, Texas for a double wedding. I'm finally back in Cajun country where the football craze is ever prevalent. I'm not really into football or any sports for that matter but I'm glad that Saints won. I'm happy for this state. Yay! I think. In retrospect, I should've worn the Saints colors today but then that would make me feel like a poseur.

Today is my friend Erin's birthday lunch. I decided to wear the traditional birthday red today in her honor.

Sorry Govinda, didn't have time to take detail shoots especially of the top!

Teal Me Something

A. Byer Blazer $15. Vintage Edwardian Secretary Blouse thrifted. Grey skirt thrifted. Belt Love Culture $7. WM Teal Stirrup Leggings $7. Granny boots from yesterday.

Leggings and tights make my short legs look a little bit interesting so lord knows what I'll do in the summer when I have to be bare legged.

These colors I had to borrow from my friend Tabitha. Teal and black are her colors. I mean, it's not like there's a copy right or anything. It was more like a mental territorial pissing :-)

I was thinking "Librarian" when I picked out my outfit today. Although I've yet to see real librarians dress like this. I think the gray skirt has a whole academe flair to it. I pretend that belt buckle is made of adamantium.

Harley Queen

Ralph Lauren Cardigan. Harlequin top gifted by Tisai.Black Tights F21 $5.80. Gifted Granny Boots by my mom-in-law.

Dressed like a ticker tape parade! One of my bestfriends, Tisai, gifted me this harlequin diamond shirt for my birthday three years ago and I totally forgot about it! Sorry Sai. So I finally snipped the tags off and wore it promptly.

Weather is nasty but at least no more arctic blasts. I'm wearing this ensemble without any coats. We're leaving for Tyler, Texas tomorrow evening to attend my friends' Jessie Munns and Chauntelle DuPree's double wedding feature! I hope it's not gonna be too cold over there...or there goes my entire planned trousseau down the drain. Nevertheless, I'm so excited to see the DuPrees again!

Somewhat closer detail on my $2.00 thrifted necklace

Welcome To The Dollhouse

XOXO Blazer gifted. Tagless One piece vest and striped shirt SM. Guess Skinny Jeans $40.Vintage lace up boots ebay.com

This photo is taken in my area at work by my friend Squeezy Peters. Sadly, I don't own the dollhouse, that's my boss Teli's daughter's Calico Critters dollhouse that they want me to decorate. And more sadly, Thad won't let me keep it...

I have a huge product meeting today so I actually dressed up all business-like. Hopefully I will exude an air of knowing what I'm actually talking about when I use words like, marketability, return profits, unique selling proposition, packaging ergonomics...It should be fun. Design meetings are nothing like stiff corporate meetings. There's pizza.

Brooch detail. Got this from F21 online circa 2008

Three Head's A Charm

Wet Seal Cardigan $9. Threadless shirt $12. Paris Blue Boot Cut Jeans $15. Payless Burgundy Boots $25 circa 1998! Belt gifted by Jami.

Merrrh...Monday. I am too lazy to not coordinate. Normally, I'd be wearing some color totally out of synch with my whole wardrobe but as it is, I actually coordinate. The military belt is a gift by my old college friend, Jami. It says "Prairie Girl". She had to get it for me because of my address, Prairieville. I have a bunch of friends who are not from LA. who wish they lived in Prairieville just for its name. It does have that charming peasant tone to it.

The threadless shirt is an artwork titled Satan's Little Helper. It is of a puppy Cerberus , the three headed dog who guards the underworld in Greek myths. The doggy tags all had the number 6 on them. I painted it over with some white emboss textile paint because I am horribly superstitious. Coming from a Christian household, I don't want to wear anything with 666 on it. All Thad had to say about the white washing was that I was giving power to numerology. They're just numbers.

The Traveling Circus

Brown Beret from etsy $15. Wool Plaid Jacket thrifted. Michael Stars Sweater gifted
by my good friend, Squeezy Peters. F21 necklaces.Rue 21 Striped Jeans. Volatile Platform Moccasin Boots $6, yep 6 glorious dollars.

...That's where my outfit came from. I am brave enough to wear this combination. This abomination of patterns is just stuff you see on pages of fashion mags but will never see the light of day on the street. Unless you're in Tokyo. That's why I need to move there. I'm scared of many things but not bold patterns as apparent in this whole get up. Lynn, a girl at work told me my pants remind her of Drop Dead Fred. Inwardly I was saying "yesss!" but I was hoping for Bettlejuice but I guess I needed the hair for it.

Friday! Tomorrow is my crochet class with my work girl friends at my house. I'm excited about that. I get all gung ho with new projects...I might end up crocheting a jacket for Gotham which he'll just eat up.

Details on accessories and booties

Velvet Crush On You

Velvet Jacket with Soundgirl wooden heart button. Dollhouse Denim Vest. The Limited Top.
Picasso Style Rust Corduroy Skirt. F21 necklaces. Rue 21 Green Leggings. Frye Booties.
Minicoop photo by Tom Swain.

This outfit makes me want to go for a drive in a minicoop around the English countryside instead I ended up at work in Gonzales. But I can daydream...

I've had most of the pieces in this ensemble for years but I've never worn them all together. Coordinating clothes can be a challenge that's why I invest in magazines. They're a treasure trove of inspiration. If you ever want to overhaul your wardrobe and start dressing up a little bit different from what the rest of the people are wearing, the first two things you need aside from clothes would be fashion magazines and the attitude that you don't care what other people think. They can stare all they want. Heh.

Wicked Stitches of Eastwick

Sashimi Peagreen Corduroy Jacket $15 MK Embroidered Vest $25
New York and Company Wool Sweater gifted. Hydraulic Jeans. Vintage Boots ebay.com

One of the really good things about being diminutive is I can fit in children's clothing. Children's clothing are generally more playful and more imaginative with colors and prints. My style bible is a mini-boden catalogue. For those of you who know me in real life or just even followed my blog for the past month, you would already have guessed I am not a "safe" dresser. I don't wear solid colors and pile them on top of each other. There's gotta be some accessory that should break down the monotony. In this case, a Mary-Kate and Ashely embroidered vest size 14 in kids. I bought this vest over 3 years ago, and yes, I still remember how much it cost me. I saw the ad on the newspaper inserts for it so I rushed to Wal-mart and scooped one up. It is still one of my favorite piece of clothing in my cramped closet. (It's only cramped because Thad and I share one closet not because I have lot of clothes).

I know for sure that I'd beat myself up if I had missed this wonderful vest. My creed is if you want something go get it! If it turns out to be a disaster, there's always ebay. You wouldn't believe how many people will bid on your junk.

Chewsday's Child

Slate Angels Corduroy Jacket. Heart n' Crush Knitted Vest $25. F21 Fur Vest.Paris Blues.
Charlotte 21 Boots. Necklace Shekina

Chewsday! Getting closer to the weekend. That's optimism for ya. It's warming up a little bit. I'm not wearing thick jackets or coats right now but that could change in a next few days.

I noticed that I have been wearing boots from fall through winter. Either boots and leggings or boots and tucked in jeans. I'm going to miss wearing boots in the summer. I really don't know if there will be a frugal froxin' summer because I don't like dressing up in the summer. I like the cold months because you can layer clothing. It makes everything interesting. Summer is the time for tank tops and I'm not the tank top type, unless I'm wearing something over it. I do have quite a number of cute summer shoes but then I already know that I will just end up wearing my Reef flip flops.

This is my favorite part of my outfit. Vintage Cuckoo Clock ring snagged from www.etsy.com.
It's encrusted with gemstones and it's even got a little bird peeking from the window. Ultra-cute!

Hyperborean Hype

Red Corduroy Jacket Rue 21 circa 2007. Nordic Sweater Rue 21. Paris Blues Jeans $15. AE Boots.

My title is actually an afterthought on how my friend Seth guessed my real age. 145 years old. Hyperboreans live to be thousand and are in the constant state of euphoria. They also live in extremely cold parts of the earth. My heart :-P. Sheesh.

I love this sweater. It's warmmmmm. I don't own a lot of warm clothes because Louisiana doesn't get this cold. I kind of regret buying it because it's too warm for mild Southern winters but right now this sweater and I are bestfriends. I also like the way this sweater doesn't make me look cantilevered. It makes me look like I have a chest of an 11 year old boy.

Onwards to other body parts, I have to include the semi profile because I love the way my hair looks on it. I can only achieve that coiffure when I'm sleeping a certain way, when my hair has the right amount of moisture and when the stars align perfectly on a winter solstice.

Alright, let's see what Monday has in store for me.

Faux Fur Faux Background

CLN Denim Jacket gifted by my Nanay. GAP Sweater.Red Pants Rue 21.

Friday!!! I've been waiting for this days since Sunday night. My living room has dismembered limbs of the Christmas tree so this fake background is a nice change of view This arctic cold we have today should have some snow in it but sadly no. It's just cold and bone crushing wet. I might go over to that chalet and drink some hot cocoa.

Hemingway lived in Paris when he was younger since it was considered a hot spot for writers. He never got published there. He moved to the Alps and got published. I thought I'd mention that since in my mind I am in the Alps.

I wish we have snow so that I can wear moonboots.

I've got the flare for ninjaism, mooning superheroes and apathy

Daidaiirozukin Xoxo

Vintage Coat $2. Thrifted Peasant Patchwork Vest.Speckled Brown Knit Top gifted by my friend Squeezy Peters, F21 Pompom and bead necklaces, Union Brown Corduroy, Nine West Boots

Not a whole lot of people will get my title except for my closest friends, Bevlee and Kreth. Daidaiiro is Japanese for the color orange. Zukin is Japanese for hood. Xoxo, pronounced Chu-Chu is my childhood and still-is nickname. The title is a play off a bizarre anime the three of us were nuts about. Akazukin Chacha meaning Red-Hood Chacha.


I tell no lies when I tell you I bought that coat for $2.00 at a flea market in Soho, NY. It's hardly warm though. I guess it's just for looks. I'm feeling a little bit gypsy today because the necklaces have bells on them. Can't really sneak on anybody.

Trying to lose the holiday weight from past two Christmases. Hah! We still have our Christmas tree. I'm not a Catholic but Thad is, although he rarely goes to church. We normally take our tree down after the Feast of Three Kings which was yesterday. I need to put it away now. I'm going to have the sads when I do.

The Red Baroness

Ashley 26 Int'l Bomber Jacket. CPure Mini Lace Dress $5 (yes you read that right) Black Cotton Tights WalMart Frye Boots. Aviator Fur Hat. Ray-Ban Aviators. Photo by Erin

This ensemble came together because it is fargin' cold outside. That bomber jacket is lined in fleece and the aviator hat is lined in rabbit fur so I'm snug as all get out. Before I knew it, I was dressed like Manfred von Richthofen or in more popular terms, the Red Baron. I figured I'd wear a nice little lacey mini dress to put a little bit of feminine touch to it.

My friend Erin took the photos with our inferior work camera because my camera finally gave up on me. I did take some pictures at home but when I tried to download them, well...I couldn't. It's probably tired of my mug from daily photo sessions and just decided to kill itself.

There's this room in our design department area that acts as a closet for electrical supplies but it also has those huge pipes with gauges on it. It kind of has a steampunk feel to it. I thought the room went with the outfit. I couldn't find a Fokker Dr.I triplane at short notice anyway.

Please Frye My Boots

Dollhouse Coat $36 Crocheted Rose Scarf $6 Paris Blues $24 Frye Boots

...Is a spoonerism of "please buy my fruits". I learned that in 3rd grade. Thought it'd be a neat title since my boots are Fryes and oh well...brain is already tired.

Some days are better than others. Today is not one of those days. I am still not consistent with my camera angles, lighting, time variants...etc. It probably doesn't help that I am always in a hurry when I'm taking pictures because I take them before I jet off to work.

Today is a tad bit nipply. I wanted to be warm but not looking like a bundled up Sherpa. This pink coat is one of the very few thin but warm coats that I have. Underneath, I am wearing a tan thermal and a dark teal military bib style shirt but you can't see them because of the scarf so I didn't bother taking detailed shots. I'm pretty sure I'll be wearing that teal shirt again in warm weather. I snagged that scarf from Ross. It was too interesting to pass up plus, it was only $6.

Feeling kind of blah today. The only good thing I can think of right now is in a couple of days, it will be the weekend. Hurray for optimism. Meeerh.

Singing in the Rain, Walking On Sunshine

Charlotte Russe Coat $36 Thrifted Yellow Necklace. Matryoshka Doll Necklace F21 (favorite part of the outfit) C-Pink Jeans. Yellow Nine West Pumps. Perry Ellis Socks.

Well, Happy New Year everyone. I hope I can do a year's worth of frugal frox posts. I get all gung ho about new projects. Eventually the fire would fizzle and then I'm off to new projects. I am going to challenge myself to at least do a year's worth...and we'll see from there :-)

Around Christmas time I was really going to get dressed like the Nutcracker sans the mustache but then opted against the whole flamboyance of it. This year has started out bleak for me although not personally but for two very good friends of mine. My mood and thoughts reflect on my daily wardrobe choices. So today, gray and yellow. Bleak and sunshiny. Yellow is peeking through the drabness of my gray coat. It's my couture take on no matter how dark the clouds are, there is a blazing shining sun behind it. See? There is a profound purpose for this blog.